Nisreen Al-khawaldeh; Bassil Mashaqba; Sami Al-Khawaldeh; Anas Al Huneety; Naji AlQbailat
Abstract
The study examines the linguistic and rhetorical devices used to express irony in Jordanian Arabic on social media. By analyzing a corpus of 67 ironic posts, the study identifies various forms of ironic expressions: pictorial texts, texts with emojis, and text only presented in Jordanian Arabic, Arabized ...
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The study examines the linguistic and rhetorical devices used to express irony in Jordanian Arabic on social media. By analyzing a corpus of 67 ironic posts, the study identifies various forms of ironic expressions: pictorial texts, texts with emojis, and text only presented in Jordanian Arabic, Arabized words, Standard Arabic, or a mixture of them. The study reveals that irony is a complex phenomenon on social networking sites expressed through various linguistic and rhetorical devices, including sarcasm, jocularity, hyperbole, understatement, and rhetorical questions. The use of irony serves different purposes, such as conveying effective persuasive and evaluation messages that leave a deeper impact on the addressee’s mind. It is a vital means of constructive criticism to criticize foolishness and corruption in both individuals and society. The study shows that irony is a universal and culturally specific technique, demonstrating distinctive cultural inherited features and in-group solidarity. It provides invaluable insights into the figurative usage of language, with theoretical and practical implications.
Anas Huneety; Bassil Mashaqba; Aisha Qandeel; Abdallah Alshdaifat; Luqman Rababah
Abstract
This research explored refusal strategies among 15 Ammani Arabic monolinguals and 15 English-Arabic bilinguals, aiming to uncover cross-cultural variations. Data were collected through a discourse completion test (DCT) following Beebe et al. (1990), featuring scenarios of requests, invitations, suggestions, ...
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This research explored refusal strategies among 15 Ammani Arabic monolinguals and 15 English-Arabic bilinguals, aiming to uncover cross-cultural variations. Data were collected through a discourse completion test (DCT) following Beebe et al. (1990), featuring scenarios of requests, invitations, suggestions, and offers. Participants respond to each scenario, refusing to individuals of equal, higher, and lower status, shedding light on diverse communication patterns in intercultural contexts. Results showed that Ammani Arabic monolinguals use more direct strategies than English-Arabic bilinguals in refusing requests and suggestions, especially when dealing with lower status. English-Arabic bilinguals use more adjunct strategies when dealing with higher-status people, while Ammani Arabic monolinguals use “care of the interlocutor’s feelings” strategy. Pragma-linguistic failures were observed, revealing differences in the length, content, and order of semantic formulas, showcasing potential challenges in cross-cultural communication. This study’s results can help understand the norms of both languages and be used in language teaching contexts.